Shoe-tie fastener



(No Model.) Y

J. B. CRAIG. SHOE TIE PASTENER.

No. 426,663. Patented Apr. 29, 1890..

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN BENTON CRAIG, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

SHOE-TIE FASTEN ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 426,663, dated April 29, 1890.

Application filed October '7, 1889. Serial No. 326,225. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN BENTON CRAIG, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Shoe-Tie Fasteners, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in fastenings for shoe-lacings, particularly to that mode of shoe-lacing wherein the operation is accomplished by the use of a single cord or string having one end fastened to the lower part of the shoe-flaps and then reefed through or over eyelets, hooks, or buttons on the sides of the shoe-flaps when the lacing end is tightened, thus drawing the flaps together; and it consists in a simple and efficacious device for fastening the lower end of the lacing and tying and holding the upper end thereof when the shoe is fastened, and for releasing or loosening the same when desirable, meanwhile affording the wearer relief from discomfort incident to direct pressure on the leg at the point of fastening.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is afront elevation of a shoe, showing my invention applied. Fig. 2 is abottom view of 1n y device, showin gattachment prongs. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of my fastener provided with cap or tongue-guard. Fig. etis an upright view in cross-section through the middle of the fastener on line 6 6, Fig. 3, the same being attached to the shoe and showing the shoe lacing or cord in place. Fig. 5 is a crosssectional View of my fastener on line 5 5, Fig. 3, showing cord in place. Fig. 6 is a top perspective View of a fastener adapted for holding lower end of cord on inside of shoe. It also shows two strings held by fastener.

Similar letters refer to similar p arts th rou ghout the drawings.

In the drawings,the shoe top A,Fig.1,having its flaps near their edge provided with either eyelets, hooks, or buttons, and a lacing or cord engaging the same, constitutes the frame-work of my invention. At the upper end, outside of the shoe and near where the lacing terminates at the shoe top, the fastener is attached to the shoe by the prongs in the usual manner, as shown by the drawings.

The elements of my upper fastener are a plate and spring-lever bearing on a string or cord, provided with a guard or cap and means for fastening the same to a shoe or other article, the same being made from a single piece of sheet metal. The prongs E E, being two or more in number, are also stamped from the same piece of metal, which forms the bottom plate J ,the guard B, and spring-tongue lever F.

The main advantages of my device consist of the inverted oval or dish-shaped tongue guard or cover, which effectually prevents the lacing from becoming snarled or caught in the fastener and prevents it from being caught by the dress or other objects in walking.

In securing the lacing with my fastener place the lower end in the lower fastener,

(which has a depression into which it fits,)

then tighten the cord 0 over the hooks or buttons D between the thumb and forefinger, and pass the end into the slot or opening in the top fastener between the turned-up end of the tongue F and the plate J. Draw it into place and the operation is complete.

In unfastening the shoe seize the lacing or cord end and throw it outward in the fastener.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

As an improved article of manufacture, the lace-fastener made from a single piece of metal comprising the bottom plate J, provided with the spring-tongue F, struck therefrom,

and with the prongs E E, and having the cap or guard B, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

JOHN BENTON CRAIG. 

